Jeju restaurant near Seongsan Port pier: hairtail A set, Jejurowoon

Jejurowoon Cheonghaewon Seongsan Ilchulbong Branch 1F, 101 Sinyang-ro, Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, South Korea Mon–Sun 08:00–21:30 Last order 21:00 Group-friendly, reservations, takeout, baby chairs

Why Jejurowoon Cheonghaewon for breakfast before the Udo ferry

On the day of a trip to Udo, one of the excursions I'd been looking forward to most, I stopped by Jejurowoon Cheonghaewon Seongsan Ilchulbong Branch early in the morning. Udo really is a must-do on any Jeju trip, isn't it? But since you need to rush to the Seongsan harbor pier early to catch the boat over, picking a breakfast spot turned out to be trickier than I expected. Go somewhere too far and I'd risk missing the boat; grab something half-hearted and I'd feel like I'd wasted a precious Jeju meal.

While searching for a tidy Korean restaurant that was close to the Udo pier but could still fill me up warm and properly, this was the place I found.

As the address suggests, Jejurowoon Cheonghaewon Seongsan Ilchulbong Branch sits right by not only Seongsan Ilchulbong but also the Seongsan harbor Dodubong pier where the Udo ferry departs — genuinely convenient to get to!

The A set for two, with sea urchin seaweed soup as the soup

Walking inside, the place was already neatly set up to welcome guests early in the morning — clean and hygienic in a way that stood out.

We ordered the most popular and generously composed option, the 'A set for two' (braised hairtail, grilled tilefish, sticky pot rice, soy crab, and a choice of seafood hot pot or sea urchin seaweed soup).

The A set lets you pick your broth to go with the mains, and we chose sea urchin seaweed soup to really taste the deep flavor of Jeju's sea.

After ordering, it wasn't long before the table began filling up, one neat side dish and delicious-looking main after another.

What the side dishes and soy-marinated crab were like

I started with the basic side dishes set down first. Nothing was too heavily seasoned or sharp — just the right level of tidiness, perfect for an easy morning meal.

The soy crab that came as a basic side dish was especially good! Soy crab served as a side often has a fishy edge or seasoning that's too salty to enjoy, but this one had no fishiness at all, wasn't salty, and the sweet-savory soy sauce had soaked deep into the crab meat.

Grilled tilefish

The grilled tilefish was a wonderful dish. Unlike the golden, crisp exterior, the flesh inside kept a juicy moistness, giving it a springy yet tender texture. The tilefish's signature light, savory-salty flavor unfolded more with every bite — excellent alongside rice.

Sea urchin seaweed soup

The sea urchin seaweed soup was perfect for warming up a morning stomach. Lifting a spoonful from the steaming stone pot, I found sea urchin roe sitting right in it.

Braised hairtail, cooked down to a shallow, soupy sauce

What I really loved about the braised hairtail was that it wasn't reduced down to almost nothing — it came with a generous, soupy amount of broth still in the pot.

Picking off a bit of hairtail flesh and scooping it up with the soupy broth, the fish melted in my mouth, and the sauce carried a spicy kick along with deep savoriness.

Sticky pot rice and nurungji sungnyung to finish

Getting freshly made hot pot rice instead of a plain bowl of rice doubled the satisfaction of the meal. Lifting the lid released a savory, nutty aroma of glossy, sticky rice, and mixing in a thick piece of hairtail with a little of that soupy braised sauce on top made for a combination that simply couldn't taste bad.

After the rice was scooped out, hot water had already been poured into the pot, and I finished the meal with a nutty bowl of nurungji sungnyung. A spicy-sweet bite of braised hairtail followed by the toasty scorched rice cleaned up my palate perfectly, leaving my stomach comfortable and the meal completely satisfying.

If you're planning a trip to eastern Jeju, I'd recommend stopping here before heading into Udo — a tidy, hearty breakfast to start the day off right!